KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday welcomed EU plans to suspend import duties on Ukrainian goods, saying the move will help “maintain” Kyiv’s economy, hard-hit by Russia’s devastating invasion.
“It will allow us to maintain our economic activity in Ukraine to the maximum and preserve our national production,” Zelensky said in a video on his Telegram channel as the war with Russia entered its third month.
The proposed EU plan to suspend import duties was announced earlier on Wednesday and still needs to be approved in a vote by the bloc’s 27 members.
Zelensky said he had discussed the initiative with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
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“I am grateful to her personally and to all our European friends for this step,” the Ukrainian leader said.
He accused Russia of “trying to provoke a global price crisis” and stir “chaos” in the world’s food market.
Zelensky said the EU’s plan would be a “significant anti-crisis tool” for European and global markets, too.
“Ukrainian exports will help stabilise markets,” he said, saying that “all Europeans” will benefit from the move.
The Ukrainian leader said he expected more countries to liberalise Ukrainian exports “soon”.
The European Commission proposed suspending the import duties earlier on Wednesday, saying it would “help alleviate the difficult situation of Ukrainian producers and exporters in the face of Russia’s military invasion”.
The proposal from Brussels comes a day after Britain announced it was dropping all tariffs on Ukrainian goods.
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